5: Foundations of Qualitative Research Flashcards
List five elements of qualitative research.
Uses language as its raw material.
Aims to study thoughts, feelings, or use of language in depth and detail.
Emphasizes description and understanding than explanation and prediction.
Emphasizes meaning of experiences in context.
Typically minimizes quantification.
What are five sources of data for qualitative research?
Interviews.
Conversations.
Field notes.
Policy statements.
Newspaper articles.
What are the roots of participant observation?
Ethnographic approach in anthropology.
What are three elements of participant observation?
Researcher “immersed” in setting; overt or covert observation (ethics).
Systematic, usually unstructured.
Detailed records (field notes), generally from memory.
Rosenhan’s “pseudopatients” consisted of which 8 people?
Three psychologists, a pediatrician, a psychiatrist, a painter, a housewife, a grad student.
What did Rosenhan’s pseudopatients do? What were the two research questions?
Faked mild auditory hallucinations to gain entry to a psychiatry ward. Acted normal afterwards.
Will anyone notice that they’re sane?
What is it like to be in a psychiatry ward?
What was the length of hospitalization for Rosenhan’s pseudopatients? What happened when they were released? Did any patients voice suspicion?
7-52 days.
Each released with diagnosis of “schizophrenia in remission.”
35 of 118 patients voiced suspicions, saying they’re not crazy and checking up on the hospital.
What were three events in Rosenhan’s study that emphasized depersonalization?
Nurse unbuttoning uniform to adjust brassiere in front of viewing men, as if she didn’t notice them.
Physical and verbal abuse towards patients from attendants. Terminated abruptly when other staff members known to be coming. Staff credible witnesses, patients not.
Physician not listening to/dismissing pseudopatient when asking about grounds privileges.
What are three problems with participant observation?
Reliability (hard to check observer accuracy).
Observer bias.
Reactivity.
What are the two types of qualitative research?
Phenomenological approaches: systematic study of subjective thoughts, feelings, ways of viewing world.
Social constructivist approaches: systematic study of how language used to structure things and accomplish certain goals.
One of the assumptions of phenomenological approaches is “perceived meaning is more important than objective reality, events or facts.” What does this mean?
Not interested in studying “objective reality,” but do not deny its existence. Person’s subjective inner experiences the most important target of study for psychology.
One of the assumptions of phenomenological approaches is “understanding should be the end point of science.” What does this mean?
Predicting future, testing specific hypotheses and experimental controls are eschewed in favour of richly describing the phenomenon of interest. Research questions instead of hypotheses.
One of the assumptions of phenomenological approaches is “there are multiple ways of seeing the world, and all valid and interesting to study.” What does this mean?
Even after receiving the same sensory data, people may interpret the same thing in different ways. No way to verify which viewpoint is “true.”
One of the assumptions of phenomenological approaches is “everyone’s self-perception is guided by implicit assumptions, and identifying these is important.” What does this mean?
Attempts to identify these assumptions, both by participant and the researcher, making them explicit in the writeup.
Define “mundane reason.”
Things are the way they appear to be and sane people share worldviews.
